The Ministry of Higher Education has discovered a chain of 110 offices in the Kingdom selling fake foreign university degrees, said Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Alouhali, Undersecretary for Education Affairs at the ministry. He said the ministry also discovered that degrees and diplomas were being offered by universities that have not been accredited by the Saudi education authorities. Accreditation ensures that only quality education is provided in the Kingdom, he added. Alouhali was quoted Saturday in a section of the Arabic press as saying that the ministry and relevant agencies are preparing to act against these operators. He said the ministry has a special department tasked with uncovering fake certificates. “The ministry has also sought the help of international organizations to help find the universities issuing these certificates.” The ministry is probing the authenticity of the records and the marks of graduates of these universities. He said the ministry has so far uncovered 326 fake nursing certificates, 306 in pharmacy, 13 in ESG and 569 in engineering. He said there were 742 fake certificates discovered in the private sector and 331 certificates in the government sector.
